The dreary weather Sunday morning didn't deter people and their pooches from coming out to support the Portage la Prairie Lions Club's annual dog walk in support of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides.

The Lions Club also teamed up with PAWS this year.The foundation trains service dogs for those in need and provides them to clients free of charge, says Portage Lions Club President Anita Hart, explaining, "we have vision dogs, hearing dogs, service dogs for people with mobility issues. We have a seizure response dog [...], we have autism awareness dogs and we have diabetic detection dogs for those with type 1 diabetes and are hypoglycemic unaware."

Hart says the minimum cost to train each dog is $25,000, indicating the reason for the annual fundraiser. She says the Portage Lions Club typically raises around $5,000 each year, and they're proud to be among the top ten groups in Canada for fundraising amounts. Hart adds they're fortunate that the friends and family of their walkers are very good sponsors.

She adds she'd also like to thank their sponsors Mac Kennels, Our Farm, Pet Value as well as the city and RM of Portage la Prairie.

This year, the walk raised just over $4000.